Plane headed from Winnipeg to Nunavut crashes on runway, killing an infant

The Canadian Press
Published Sunday, December 23, 2012 10:00AM CST
Last Updated Sunday, December 23, 2012 6:15PM CST

A charter flight leaving from Winnipeg crashed in Nunavut Saturday night, killing an infant and injuring eight other passengers.

Perimeter Aviation Flight 671 was bound for Sanikiluaq, a small town in Nunavut. The Metro 3-23 twin engine plane crashed on the runway of the town’s airport.

Seven passengers and two pilots were on board the flight. The pilots were flown back to a Winnipeg hospital for treatment, while six passengers were treated for non-life threatening injuries.

“There was one casualty as a result of the incident – a six-month-old infant,” said RCMP Sgt. Paul Solomon.

The Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the crash.

“We’re looking into weather, runway conditions, what the pilot knew of the weater before going in, training, was the aircraft sound,” said board representative Gail Conners.

Perimeter Aviation’s vice president operations, Trevor Ryder, said the company stands behind its two pilots and its aircraft.

“We have 21 of them in our fleet. Great plane, very reliable, two engines, very fast, quick planes,” said Ryder.

This is the second crash within six weeks involving a Manitoba company’s aircraft. On Nov. 18, a plane crashed shortly after taking off from Snow Lake. The passengers on the flight surived, but the pilot, 40-year-old Mark Gogol, died from his injuries.

Unlike that accident, this plane was equipped with a voice recorder, which could be a key investigators can use to unlock what happened when the plane hit the ground.

“It will be sent to our Ottawa engineering lab. The engineering lab will download the information,” said Conners.

In the mean time, Perimeter Aviation said it is doing what it can to help survivors.

“Thoughts and prayers go out to the infant,” said Ryder.

RCMP said the small community of about 800 people is shaken up, but residents of Sanikiluaq are pulling together.

The transportation safety board said it’s still unsure of how long the investigation will take to complete.

Photos

This plane crashed in Nunavut Saturday after leaving Winnipeg. (photo courtesy of the Transportation Safety Board)